#11 in Guitar books
Reddit mentions of The Advancing Guitarist (Reference)
Sentiment score: 13
Reddit mentions: 23
We found 23 Reddit mentions of The Advancing Guitarist (Reference). Here are the top ones.
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- Basic Fingerboard Mechanics
- Modes
- Scales and Chords
- Contemporary Harmony
- Harmonica and Overtone Influences
Features:
Specs:
Height | 12.06 Inches |
Length | 8.99 Inches |
Number of items | 1 |
Release date | November 1987 |
Weight | 0.91050914206 Pounds |
Width | 0.31 Inches |
My suggestion is to learn on your own, and if you choose to go to college, pursue a major that has more profitable career options. Minor in music theory and invest your free time in practicing your instrument. Here is a reading list I recommend to start getting into serious music study and guitar playing:
That was a fucking wall of text. Hopefully I didn't come off like a negative asshole or bore you to death. If you have any questions or complaints, let me know!
Alright, let me give you a rundown of my personal library.
Beginner:
Intermediate:
Advanced:
I'm sure others will disagree with my ranking, and obviously my library is rather genre specific. But it's a lot of quality material that will definitely improve your playing no matter the style.
I've been playing guitar professionally for 15 years. In that time, I've gotten a BMus in classical guitar performance, taught music, accompanied several accomplished musicians on stage and in the studio, and played in bands that have performed festivals / won grants / were written about in nationally distributed newspapers and magazines. I've edited three LPs and six EPs, mixed three records, and have production credits on them all. I've appeared on stage and in the studio ~ 1k times. All my income comes from teaching, playing, and writing.
Tips:
Books:
Coming at it from a jazz standpoint, William Leavitt's Modern Method, or Sal Salvador's Complete Book of Guitar Technique. Salvador's one contains a good few studies.
Mick Goodrick's Advancing Guitarist is particularly famous.
Links!
Chord Chemistry - Ted Greene
The Advancing Guitarist - Mick Goodrick
Mickey Baker's Complete Course in Jazz Guitar: Book 1
Also, remember that 85% of odd jazz chords that come about, you should be able to work out. -Maj7? Min7 chord with a sharp 7. 7b5? 7 chord with a flat five. Chords with tensions can generally be played without the tensions, so G13 can easily be G7. However, you will loose some nuance. As for jazz solos? Totally not a jazz guitarist. My rock soloing didn't go well with my jazz teachers. However, I was given some fantastic advice: Even if you don't play a style, solo in it like you would normally because that is where you are comfortable. If you find the groove, you'll fit.
From my experience, ear training and visualization should be your focus, not theory. I learned a shitton of theory, and it did not do me much good without practice. It’s like how I know a lot about baseball, but I don’t play baseball, so knowing that what to do in certain situations won’t actually help me do it if I have to process it like it’s a math problem—there simply isn’t a way to transform thought into kinesthetic movements without taking the time to “lay down the tracks”.
The theory will come from practicing, both with guitar in hand and when you are out and about by visualizing chords changes or melodies or the Circle of Fifths or whatever. Then, as you look through theory for things to practice, you’ll likely already have a place to put the names of the things in your head. I should add, try singing the notes you try to play, even if your voice sucks—practice will make your voice better.
The point of theory is music. To that end, I recommend doing what I didn’t do, practicing the exercises in The Advancing Guitarist by Mick Goodrick. Also, really play with the Circle of Fifths and the brightness/darkness implicit to it.
The Advancing Guitarist by Mick Goodrick. Excellent, excellent book filled with tons of ideas on how to take your playing to the next level and think outside the box.
http://www.amazon.com/The-Advancing-Guitarist-Mick-Goodrick/dp/0881885894
EDIT to add:
The Guitarist's Guide to Composing and Improvising by Damian John.
http://www.amazon.com/Guitarists-Guide-Composing-Improvising-Book/dp/0634016350/ref=pd_sim_b_16?ie=UTF8&refRID=0V593FDV2H8756D7K3DK
> Mick Goodrick's "The Advancing Guitarist" is a fantastic resource for this.
QFT, and to add an Amazon link for convenience. TAG had a huge effect on my playing and indeed whole approach to music.
It's also the book I've bought most copies of because I keep lending it to people and one way or another they end up keeping it.
The next book on that list is Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman.
The Advancing Guitarist by Mick Goodrick
It's a more advanced book than you'll 'need' right now, but there is a fearsome about of wisdom and information within it's pages. I've had it for perhaps 18 years and still have more to learn from it!
I've owned a number of copies over the years due to people borrowing it then not returning it, which although annoying I think is a good measure of a book's quality!
The link is to an Amazon page so you can have a look inside to get a feel for the style and type of info in there.
Enjoy!
Book 1 and Book 2
These have been keeping me busy:
Chord Chemistry
http://www.amazon.com/books/dp/0898986966
The Advancing Guitarist
http://www.amazon.com/Advancing-Guitarist-Mick-Goodrick/dp/0881885894/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1375333714&sr=1-1
Chord Chemistry is a great book. It's my guitar bible. I'm always coming back to it. It was written by one of the best guitar players ever, Ted Greene.
I've heard The Advancing Guitarist is quite good but I've not read it.
One last suggestion. If you can find a book called SuperChops by another legendary player (Howard Roberts) you'll be set. It's a great 20 week course that'll take your playing to new levels. Howard was one heck of a jazz player, teacher and nice fella. It's out of print (now) so it may be a struggle to get a copy but once you do...hold onto it.
This is the one to start with, I'd say: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0876390114/
Might have a bit of redundant theory for you, but should get you going technique-wise, at least.
Also of note : https://www.amazon.com/dp/0881885894/
and
https://www.amazon.com/dp/3892210195/
I started reading (and practicing with) Mick Goodrick's The Advancing Guitarist a year ago, and he mentioned an interesting anecdote: A bassist he knew would go home at night, turn on the TV and watch bowling with the sound off, and a metronome in the background. Goodrick doesn't specifically recommend or even rationalize the practice in the book, but he seemed to imply that there might be something to it.
The book itself is very non-prescriptive and simply proposes a lot of guided experimentation, and the metronome anecdote might just be another instance of that theme.
Book link: https://www.amazon.com/Advancing-Guitarist-Mick-Goodrick/dp/0881885894
Two things, check out what David Lynch has to say about meditation and inspiration, he talks about how when he started meditating his creativity just skyrocketed.
Also depending on what type of musician you are, simply exploring theory, chords, scales, etc. can open up all kinds of inspiration. For example the Mick Goodrick book The Advancing Guitarist is basically just a bunch of exercises that multiply out into hundreds of different positions and iterations. I can never mess with a book like that for longer than twenty minutes before I'm spinning out all kinds of ideas based on the raw material given.
Here's a cartoon from howtoons.com explaining finger binary:
http://i.imgur.com/J1vKw.jpg
Ascending/descending scales are from the book "The Advancing Guitarist."
http://astore.amazon.com/themachiguita-20/detail/0881885894
I'm not crazy about his music, but I got a lot of mileage out of "Rock Discipline" by John Petrucci and, more abstractly, check out "The Advancing Guitarist" by Mick Goodrick.
Oh, and you're looking for something a little more free, I'd recommend GuitarCardio.
Thinking about your original post more this might not be the book you're looking for.
For straight up the best in guitar theory I'd recommend:
https://www.amazon.com/Advancing-Guitarist-Mick-Goodrick/dp/0881885894
This is the book all the guitarists went nuts over while I was at Berklee.
Even before that I would suggest Effortless Mastery: http://kennywerner.com/effortless-mastery
This book is essential for anyone getting serious into playing music and looking into theory.
Hell yeah. There is a reason why a lot of metal guitarists also get into jazz (eg, Marty Friedman).
Here are my recommendations:
The Advancing Guitarist
You'll need to learn how to read musical notation for this, but it's worth it.
Victor Wooten: Groove Workshop
It's a bass video and it's not even about technique, in particular. But it's filled with incredibly insightful advice for musicians of any kind. Highly recommended.
If you can somehow find a way to work through The Advancing Guitarist you will be well versed in theory and soloing. It is a tough read though so take everything with a grain of salt
The Advancing Guitarist by Mick Goodrick
The Advancing Guitarist will be useful to you from beginning to end. Everything is explained in a concise, easy to understand way.
That being said, it is probably best used in combination with a method book.
In lieu of a big spiel, buy this book.
The Advancing Guitarist